He sat back and looked at the others, waiting to hear what questions they had. Everyone seems pretty silent here...and when they do speak, it's a lot of stuff I don't get! If I was hanging from a cliff, I wonder if they'd save me...?

Seeing that nobody had any more questions about the map or the route, Oswald continued, "The basic plan is to take along plenty of supplies. We'll be fairly heavily laden going out, but we can leave food in caches as we go along - That should make things easier coming back."

"I managed to round us up some magical stoves, so warmth and hot meals won't be too much of an issue when we stop for the night." He paused again, awaiting any further comments.

Having asked all her questions before she even agreed to take the job, Yan Yan continued observing the silence. Surely, someone had something else to say. Probably the obnoxious kid. His kind always had something to say.

Seeing that nobody had any questions, Oswald continued, "Since Marya here has visited Hastel before, I've asked her to give us her thoughts on what we might expect." He nodded to the elf, turning the floor over to her.

"There's really not a lot to tell," Marya said self-deprecatingly, "We landed closer to the head of the bay than we will be this time, and struck inland more or less at random." She shook her head at the memory, "As you can imagine, we didn't find much. Our worst enemies during the trip were the cold and the ice. Hastel is the sort of place where you need to pace yourself, and take care every step of the way. Concealed crevasses are all too common. Still, there's nothing actively malevolent about the place. Just a profound sense of age."

Completely ignoring the fact that Ake had just asked a question, Yan Yan turned to Marya. "When you were there, did you see any sort of writing? Engraving? Something that was obviously not a result of time and weather on the ruins?"

Marya shook her head, "We never made it to this set of ruins. We were looking more around this area," she sketched a rough circle further east with a finger. "We did come across some odd caves in the mountains. They seemed artificial, but we were running low on supplies, so we didn't have much time to explore them." She considered for a few moments, "I really have no idea who would have built the ruins, though I may be able to tell more when we see them. Perhaps the ice dragons, though. They're about the only intelligent creatures on Hastel."

"Well, that's unfortunate." Yan Yan looked somewhat dejected. Fortunately, that look was masked entirely by her mask. "Still, it would be interesting to see, perhaps make some rubbings if they do have writing there. I don't suppose anyone had the forthought to bring paper and charcoal?"

As the meeting wore on, it became apparent that there was little more to be covered. After a bit of discussion about supplies, the group was about ready to break up.

It was at this point that the lookout spotted a dragon flying out for a look at the ship. Despite some initial concern among certain crew members, it seemed content to circle the ship a couple of times before continuing further out to sea. It seemed its curiosity wasn't strong enough to prompt a closer look.

The coastline of Hastel was sighted the following morning, and the ship safely anchored by noon. After all the ferrying of gear and last minute arrangements, it was decided to spend one last night on Starling and get an early start in the morning. Needless to say, there was a bit of a send-off.

As threatened, the intrepid explorers were on their way early in the morning, trekking westwards across the ice in search of the stone circle marked on the map. There were no major incidents, though it did take a while for some to get used to the conditions.

Spirits remained high, with the initial novelty of the trip not having worn off, and the antics of seals to watch while they remained close to the coast.

It was a strange feeling making camp while there was still plenty of light, but as they'd seen, the days grew long this far north.

Late the following afternoon, the group spotted something that might be what they were looking for. There had been the occasional rock sticking up above the snow here and there, but this time there was a regular formation visible in the distance. As they drew closer, their suspicions were confirmed. Six carved stones standing a good five feet above the snow and arrayed in a precise circle.

"Right," Oswald said, unharnessing himself from his sled and rubbing his hands together, "Let's take a look."

"Hooo!!" Molokidan clambored up the rickety steps of the ship, clad in his baby blue winter gear. The cold wind tore at his face as he stepped foot onto the deck, utterly different from the last time he had set foot on the ship's outer rim.

So this is the Ice Continent... Molo thought to himself, his teeth chattering in unison with his pondering brain. He had a lot on his mind. If it was this cold, then how would they be able to cook dinner? What kind of fish were available for picking!? And most of all, who would be his 'buddy' when they went exploring?! And lastly....

For her part, Yan Yan seemed perfectly happy with the situation. Which is to say, it was good for her to finally be off that ship and on solid land again. She stretched for a moment, enjoying the brisk air of the ice continent, appropriately dressed for the weather.

Which is to say, she appeared to be wearing the exact same thing as she was wearing on the ship.

"Ah, of course." nodded the ice mage to Oswald, before folloing after him.

The stones were quite impressive up close. Set in a circle some twenty feet in diameter, and covered in complex geometric designs that might or might not be some form of script, there was a sense of sleeping power about them. It was difficult to tell how deep beneath the snow they extended, but they must surely be solidly anchored.

Those with astral senses found the impression of power amplified. Whoever had erected the stones, for whatever reason, they had left a lot of magical energy dormant within them.

Oswald picked out one of the stones seemingly at random, removing a glove and running a hand over it. Marya, meanwhile, was taking a slow walk around the outside of the circle.

The feeling of power was not lost on Yan Yan. Indeed, someone would have to be blind to the astral not to notice. Which meant, of course, that the windged fool would be confounded as to what was so interesting about them.

The ice mage too walked around the circle, stopping briefly at each one for a quick examination. The immediate thing she was looking for were similarities --were the stones identical, very similar, or did they differe drastically between themselves?

Yan Yan found the stones to be very similar. Identical in size and shape, and with identical patternings of runes up until the top two feet or so of the stone. From there, each stone had its own unique arrangment of runes. Most had two or three runes wrapped around the top of the stone, but the northernmost had a single large rune emblazoned at the top.

The runes were in no language any of the group were familiar with. Yan Yan might, however, be reminded of the fact that many practitioners of magic developed their own unique notation. Perhaps the same also applied between different cultures?

"Don't sound so excited," responded the masked mage, examining the length of the stones. "These things only have enough power running through them to vaporize us all instantly, if that was their purpose."

She continued examining the differing runes on each one. Was there some sort of common element? Similar forms repeated on each one, which could denote a consistent script?

Yan Yan sighed. It could take months or just a few minutes to decipher what these things said, and she doubted that anyone wanted to stay for the former...

Devast, despite having brought a warm coat, had been shivering for most of the trip so far. This was definitely not what he was thinking when he'd first learned it was going to be very cold here. Even the mornings were colder than what he'd imagined.

He knew, however, he wouldn't be allowed to go back until this was done, so he took a slow walk around the circle the stones made, paying little attention to any of the runes. Once he got all the way to the northernmost stone, however, he stopped to have a close look. By now he realized he had no clue what he was doing, but he kept looking anyway.